The first we saw of Jason Isringhausen, he was in the Mets' so-called Generation K rotation in 1995, but he flamed out with injuries and required Tommy John surgery, shelving him the entire 1998 season and prompting a career change.

He turned into an effective closer with the A's and Cardinals - until he underwent a second Tommy John surgery in 2008, sapping life from his fastball and making him re-create himself as a Rays' setup man.

Then came a third Tommy John surgery, another lost season and another comeback. He returned to the Mets last year, earned his 300th career save and is working out of the Angels' bullpen this year. He was quoted as saying his elbow is hanging by a thread.

Pitchers who have multiple Tommy John surgeries - during which an elbow ligament is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body, usually a forearm - don't usually come back the same, if at all. But if there's a saving grace for Giants closer Brian Wilson, the success rate is better for relievers, according to Chronicle research.

Of that group, Isringhausen was the only accomplished, long-standing closer, so the sample size for Wilson and Soria, both All-Star closers, is tiny.

Kuo also succeeded after a double dose of Tommy John, breaking in with the Dodgers after undergoing one surgery in his late teens and another in his early 20s. By 2010, he was an All-Star setup man and posted a 1.20 ERA. Two years later, however, he's out of the majors.

Brocail pitched six more years after a couple of Tommy John surgeries and appeared in a career-high 72 games for the 2008 Astros at age 41. Reyes played two more years after his final Tommy John surgery and collected 26 saves for the 2007 Rays at 36, the first and only time he was a closer.

To different degrees, they're all nice comeback stories, but there's also the cold reality of Zimmerman and Spooneybarger, promising relievers (as a rookie, Zimmerman was an All-Star on the 1999 Rangers) who pitched just three big-league seasons because they didn't recover from two Tommy John surgeries. Zimmerman was 29 when he threw his final big-league pitch, Spooneybarger 23.

Wilson is 30 and vows to return next season - as a better pitcher. He and plenty of others have come back from Tommy John surgery, but remaining in top form after a second is rare.

Dr. James Andrews, who performed both of Wilson's surgeries, said the success rate for pitchers returning to presurgery form after undergoing a second Tommy John procedure is about 20 percent. Former Giants trainer Stan Conte, now with the Dodgers, is composing an extensive study on the subject.

He played just two seasons in Boston, but Canseco was part of Friday's 100-year Fenway Park anniversary celebration. Seemed a bit odd, even though more than 200 former players, coaches and managers attended, but everything involving Canseco these days seems a bit odd.

A lot of the time, we don't know if he's trying to be serious or humorous. With his tell-all steroid books and fights with luminaries such as Danny Bonaduce, no longer are we surprised by his actions or words, but sometimes we wonder if he really believes half the stuff he says.

Such as: "Ball was flying out of fenway, I could have hit 2 homers today"

Or: "Bobby if you want me to help you fix the red sox call me I have some ideas, red sox know how to contact me"

And: "Boston rocks I want to play for them so bad"

And don't forget: "Kenny powers is the man I mean I am ,we are the same"

Those were Canseco's tweets from the historic day at Fenway. When he was introduced on the field, he flexed his right biceps, just as he did when astute Red Sox fans directed their "ster-oids" chants at him in the 1988 playoffs.

Apparently, he was close to Bud Seligat one point ("he is so lucky I am not angry at him anymore") and considered chatting with Alex Rodriguez, the guy he linked to steroids before A-Rod's admission.

In the end, we knew the true order of the world when Canseco participated in the Fenway ceremony and Roger Clemenswas nowhere in sight.

Thome had been 1-for-10 with five K's on the season, and Lopez struck him out. Mayberry hit for Juan Pierre, and Clay Hensleyreplaced Lopez and retired Mayberry. The Giants won in the bottom of the 11th.

"Thome's 2-for-11 off (Lopez), and he's got three Ks, so that means he puts the ball in play eight times," Manuel said. "If he hits the ball, as big and strong as he is, we got a chance to score a run."

Bochy said he knew Manuel would leave Thome in, based on Thome's career numbers.

The Bull Pen

-- Curtis Grandersonbecame the 20th Yankee to hit three homers in a regular-season game. Didn't exactly match Reggie Jackson's three homers in a 1977 World Series game. "That's another level there," said a grinning Jackson, who witnessed Granderson's show.

-- You didn't really expect Jackson to attend this weekend's A's reunion for the 1972 champs? Not when Reggie's Yanks are playing the Red Sox.

-- Former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, who fought to keep the Giants in San Francisco in 1992 when Bob Lurietried selling them to Florida interests, is thinking about putting in a bid to buy the Padres.

-- This "retiring as a name-your-favorite-team" stuff is getting goofy. After Mike Cameronthrew out a ceremonial first pitch in Seattle, it was announced he had decided to "retire as a Mariner," which delighted the crowd even though Cameron played just four of his 17 big-league seasons with the Mariners and his final game with the 2011 Marlins.